Poll: Scandal interest below average

A majority of Americans are following both the controversy over the attack on the U.S. compound in Benghazi and the brewing IRS scandal - but at levels below historic averages, according to a new poll.

Fifty-four percent said they are closely following the story of how the IRS unfairly targeted conservative groups, according to the Gallup survey on Thursday, and 53 percent are closely following Benghazi. For both stories, 22 percent were following “not too closely” and 24 weren’t following at all.

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“The level of attention being paid to each is below the average 60 percent of Americans who have closely followed more than 200 news stories Gallup has measured over the past several decades,” Gallup editor-in-chief Frank Newport wrote in an analysis of the poll.

Republicans are more likely to be paying attention to both controversies. Two-thirds of the GOP say they are following both scandals. Only 40 percent of Democrats are following the IRS story, with 45 percent keeping a close eye on Benghazi.

While 74 percent of Americans believe the IRS scandal should be investigated and 79 percent said the same of Benghazi, there are large partisan differences. Seventy-six percent of Republicans “strongly agree” Benghazi should be probed, compared to only 27 percent of Democrats.

The poll of 1,022 adults was conducted from May 14 to May 15. It has a margin of error of plus or minus 4 percentage points.